I've heard Iron & Wine stuff before but never really given anything by Sam Beam a considerable ear until this album, which as dumb luck would have it, resonates very nicely with what I was hoping it would be. Notably, the ease at which the songs warmly punctuated melodies just sort of float over a diverse arrangement of rhythms to achieve a perfectly organic and exhilerting feel. Nothing sounds contrived or processed or obtuse and the result is an effortlessly enjoyable collection of songs with very few misses... Oh, and BlissedandGone2 is right, Carousel is a sublime track.

It's umn... the most surprising album I've heard since Revolver - that is, the transformation of Iron And Wine circa. Our Endless Numbered Days to Iron And Wine circa. The Shepards Dog is similar to the shock I got when I found out that the Beatles could go from "crappy pop tunes" (that adolescent sentiment now TOTALLY DEBASED) like, "I Wana Hold Your Hand," "Help," and so on to stuff like Eleanor Rigby and Tomorrow Never Knows. It's a big shock, it's an awesome album.

It's umn... the most surprising album I've heard since Revolver - that is, the transformation of Iron And Wine circa. Our Endless Numbered Days to Iron And Wine circa. The Shepards Dog is similar to the shock I got when I found out that the Beatles could go from "crappy pop tunes" (that adolescent sentiment now TOTALLY DEBASED) like, "I Wana Hold Your Hand," "Help," and so on to stuff like Eleanor Rigby and Tomorrow Never Knows. It's a big shock, it's an awesome album.